Getting Ready For The Party!

Awfully Big Blog Adventure’s virtual curtains were briefly closed for a while to give us time to re-paint the scenery and re-arrange the lighting and now - ta da! – an Awfully Big Blog Adventure is back.

I feel as if I’m standing here with a glowing taper, ready to set off our own display of celebratory firework as we welcome an Awfully Big Blog Adventure back with a new look and a weekend of celebration for its 3rd birthday.



Some months ago, there were mutterings among the Scattered Authors about ways of improving ABBA. The mutterings became discussions and then turned into on-line meetings and eventually this new ABBA took shape.

The Editorial Team – John Dougherty, Ellen Renner and myself, Penny Dolan - faced a variety of opinions about what should be done.

So we talked to Elen Caldecott who, while claiming she wasn’t an expert, did lots of technical magic. Elen has sneaked in gadgets and widgets and all sorts of things to intrigue browsing readers.

Then Hannah Shaw, our illustrator, came in to help by bringing fresh life to our trusty ABBA banner. You’ll spot other examples of Hannah’s art scattered here and there across the pages. Even better, Hannah herself will be here on ABBA tomorrow with her very first post.

There’s a space for us, and a space for you and even a space where you’ll soon be able to see details of events.

One of the pleasures of everyday Awfully Big Blog Adventure posts is the variety of voices and viewpoints about the writing life. How good, we thought, it would be if authors could also talk about the books they love in the same way?

So now you’ll see a tab for Awfully Big Reviews, our newest venture, where you’ll find more Scattered Authors sharing their enjoyment of reading. They will be writing about titles old and new, books for all ages, and covering a wide range of genres, formats and more. Some books will be by Scattered Authors, others not, but our main aim is to share enthusiasms about books we love and that children and young readers love.

Meanwhile, when we were grappling with the redesign, Sam Mills and Lucy Coats were working away, putting together an Awfully Big Blog Online Literature Festival for our 3rd birthday this coming weekend.

At times I’ve worried that the re-designed stage might prove too wobbly for the fantastic line-up of children’s and young adult author appearing in the Lit Fest which includes a host of videos to see, posts to read and all sorts of give-aways, competitions and general fun, but it’s all safe and secure, and now I can’t wait for all the celebrations to begin.

Huge thanks to everyone who has helped – or will be helping - with an Awfully Big Blog Adventure, with Awfully Big Reviews or the Online Birthday Festival.

We’re really looking forward to seeing everyone at the party, so please do call in, enjoy some virtual cake, and join in all the birthday wishes.


Penny Dolan